Washington Nationals vs San Diego Padres Prediction, 7/8/2021 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Washington Nationals vs San Diego Padres

Date: Thursday, July 8, 2021

Location: Petco Park in San Diego, CA

TV: Bally Sports San Diego

Odds/Point Spread: Washington (+140) San Diego (-182)

Max Scherzer and the Washington Nationals (41-43, 3rd in NL East) go to Petco Park on Thursday where they'll take on the San Diego Padres (51-37, 3rd in NL West). The Padres open this matchup at -182 while the Nationals are priced at +140. The O/U is set at 6.5. The starting pitchers will be Max Scherzer and Yu Darvish.

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As a team, the Washington Nationals are knocking in 4.1 runs per contest, which is 26th in the league. They have notched a total of 341 runs scored and have an on-base percentage of .323. The Nationals have accrued 125 two-baggers as a team and have hit 94 balls out of the park. They have amassed 326 RBI's in addition to 685 base knocks for the year, while their team batting average is sitting at .251. Washington is slugging .406 and have been rung up 705 times, while drawing a walk on 260 occasions.

The Nationals have a team ERA of 4.02 so far this year (14th in the league), and they have struck out 713 hitters. They have walked 263 opposing hitters and their FIP sits at 4.34 as a squad so far this season. Their strikeout to walk ratio is 2.71 and the pitching staff has a collective WHIP of 1.24. Nationals pitchers have yielded 106 home runs and also 355 total runs (11th in MLB).

The Nationals have dispatched 284 relief pitchers to the mound so far this year. The relief pitchers have inherited 104 runners this year and 33.7% of those runners crossed the plate. They have accumulated 21 saves this season and have blown 10 of 31 chances to get a save. The Nationals relief pitchers have accumulated a save rate of 67.7% and has entered the game in 76 save situations. The relief pitchers have racked up 44 holds this year (11th in the league). Nationals bullpen pitchers have entered the contest with runners on base 69 times in addition to having 74 appearances in high leverage situations.

The Washington Nationals have a tally of 2,161 putouts this year, as well as 708 assists and 47 errors. Their fielding rate is at .984 which has them sitting 13th in professional baseball, and have accumulated 611 double plays. The Nationals have transformed 71.2% of balls hit into play into outs out of their 6,483 innings, ranking them 5th in the majors.

Scherzer has thrown 2,451 frames and has racked up 2,911 K's so far in his pro baseball career. His earned run average is 3.17 (863 ER's allowed) and he has a career WHIP of 1.091. He has surrendered 2,012 hits (7.4 hits per 9 innings) and has 662 walks. Scherzer (182-97 career mark) has earned a FIP of 3.14 while facing 9,931 hitters in the majors.

The San Diego Padres hold a team OBP of .324 as well as a team batting average of .241 on the year. They have been called out on strikes on 729 occasions (21st in MLB) and have earned a total of 699 base knocks. San Diego has 106 long balls this year as well as 389 runs batted in. The Padres have a team SLG% of .404 and they average 4.65 runs per contest (10th in MLB). They have hit 131 doubles, while taking a walk 339 times as well as earning 409 runs.

The Padres have a WHIP of 1.178 and are the owners of a FIP of 3.84 as a unit on the season. Their strikeout to walk ratio sits at 3.11 (859 strikeouts vs 276 free passes). They are sitting at 10th in the league as a pitching staff in total hits conceded with 644. They have surrendered 98 home runs and they surrender 3.71 runs per 9 innings (1st in the league). The San Diego pitching staff have surrendered 322 runs on the year and come in with a team ERA of 3.30 (286 earned runs relinquished).

San Diego has called on relievers to enter the contest in 45 save chances and they have converted 30 saves. They rank 10th in MLB with a save percentage of 66.7%, and they have sent 326 bullpen pitchers onto the field for the season. Their relief pitchers have stepped onto the hill 85 times in high leverage situations and on 53 occasions with runners on. San Diego relief pitchers hold an inherited score rate of 23.6% out of their 72 inherited runners. With 105 save situations, the Padres have 58 holds and 15 blown saves.

The San Diego Padres have turned 78 double plays and have a fielding percentage of .983 (17th in professional baseball). The Padres have accrued 765 assists, 53 errors and have earned 2,344 putouts during this campaign. In 7,032 innings on the diamond, the Padres are sitting with a efficiency on defense of 70.5% (9th in MLB).

So far in his career, Darvish has given up 982 base knocks while tallying 1,515 K's in 1,229 innings. He has allowed a total of 464 earned runs while holding a WHIP of 1.142 and a FIP of 3.4. He has a K/BB ratio of 3.59 and he has gone up against 5,054 opposing hitters so far in his career. Darvish (78-59 career mark) has earned a 3.40 earned run average while allowing 7.2 hits per 9 innings.

Who will win tonight's MLB game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Washington (+140)

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